1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to product storing and dispensing apparatus adapted for use in vending machines and, more particularly, to improved apparatus of that kind, which is especially suited for handling products having relatively rigid, symmetrical forms, such as packages of gum, mints or the like, and for doing so, if desired, in the environment of a drawer type, selective vending machine in which other forms of products may be handled with different classes of storage and dispensing apparatus appropriate to their characteristics, such as those employing helix type dispensing mechanisms for handling bag packaged products or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vending machines of the general class disclosed in the Offutt U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,540 have become increasingly popular with both operators thereof and customers of the vendable products marketed therefrom by virtue of the ability of the helix type dispensing mechanisms employed in such machines to handle a wide variety of product types including non-rigid and irregularly shaped items such as bagged potato chips and the like, the manner in which such machines naturally display to customers the next-to-be-dispensed product from each of the stored supplies of a number of different product types that are available on a selectable basis, and the convenience afforded operators in reloading the withdrawable drawers of such machines with products.
It has since been recognized, however, that, although it is desirable to be able to offer a variety of products also including so-called "flat pack" items such as gum, cigarettes or the like and so-called "roll pack" items such as mints or the like from such machines, and although helix type dispensing mechanisms can be employed to handle the latter types of products, helix mechanisms inherently limit the number of flat pack and roll pack products that can be stored in a compartment of given length to an extent which is significantly less efficient than side-by-side, row storage for which such products are naturally adapted. Accordingly, efforts have previously been directed to developing various product storing and dispensing arrangements for more efficiently handling flat pack and roll pack products in the environment of vending machines otherwise employing helix equipped drawers for handling other types of products, as exemplified and probably typified by the Offutt et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,071 and the Gore et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,483.
Such mentioned prior devices have certainly proved entirely practical and to achieve advantages of their own over what had previously been available. However, those and all other prior devices for the same purpose of which we are aware were subject to certain limitations both with respect to efficiency of product storage where a number of varieties of products such as gum and mints of different flavors are to be accommodated and with respect to offering less than optimum convenience in product loading operations involving the mentioned types of products.
It would seem that prior efforts to provide product storing and dispensing apparatuses for gum and mints to be used in machines otherwise employing helix type mechanisms for handling other products may have been unduly influenced by a natural tendency to assume that the gum and mint handling units should differ from the neighboring helix mechanism type units to be used in the same machine as little as necessary, rather than by considerations we now recognize as being most relevant to the optimized handling of products such as gum and mints in the mentioned environment.